Heartbreaking Choices
by GwenOwenforever
Summary: Gwen's reached a point where she has to choose between the two men she loves. Who will she choose?


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters.

**A/N:** I got the idea for this one when I was listening to Katy Perry's "Thinking of You" (awesome song, it's just…amazing.) and I thought it just fit Gwen so well. I always picture her when I hear that song.

She loved Rhys with all her heart. He was her soul mate, her best friend and her rock. Rhys was always there for her. When she'd had an emotional day at work, he'd wrap her in his arms and comfort her while she cried into his shoulder. She was amazed that he'd stayed with her after all the shit he'd got from her when she joined Torchwood.

"Torchwood. The place where amazing things happen that make you see the world in a new light. But it screws with your life, messes with your feelings and changes you. No one stays the same person they were when they first joined." Gwen thought.

She was sat on the sofa in her flat. Rhys had gone out for the night with Banana Boat. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Her mind wandered and she could see everything that had happened since she had joined.

As she reached the recent events, a tear rolled down her cheek. She was having an affair with Owen. Guilt flowed through her. How could she do that to Rhys after everything he'd done for her? She knew she had to stop but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. When she was with Rhys, she couldn't stop thinking about Owen. Owen made her feel alive. He was the only one she could really talk to and she loved him. Sooner or later she'd have to decide, she knew that. Owen or Rhys? Rhys. It had to be Rhys, he was her soul mate.

Gwen picked up her phone and text Owen.

_"Can I come over?  
I need 2 talk 2 u.  
Gwen xxx"_

A few seconds later, her phone buzzed.

_"Sure, I'm here 4 u, u know that.  
Owen xxx"_

She smiled at the reply and grabbed her jacket.

Minutes later, she was stood outside the door of Owen's flat. She took a deep breath and knocked. When Owen opened the door, she realized she couldn't do it.

"Come in." Owen smiled.

"Thanks." She whispered and stepped inside.

She heard Owen close the door behind her.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked.

"Owen I don't…we need to…" She mumbled.

"We need to what?" He frowned.

"We need to…" She whispered.

She gazed into his eyes and felt her own begin to fill with tears. She couldn't do it. Owen gazed at her in concern. Gwen grabbed him in a tight hug and clung onto him. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head and whispered soothing words into her ear. She looked up at him and kissed him. It was different from the kisses they'd had before. It was tender and sweet. She wound her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

"Gwen, we don't have to." Owen said softly.

"I know, but I want to." She answered.

Owen hesitated, he didn't want Gwen to feel like he was taking advantage of her and just using her.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"Yes." She said.

Owen looked at her for a few moments before pressing his lips against hers.

Gwen woke up the next morning with Owen's arms wrapped around her. She smiled and snuggled into him. She heard Owen take a deep breath and looked up at him. His eyes opened and he looked sleepily at her.

"Morning." He mumbled.

"Hey." She smiled.

They gazed into each other's eyes until Gwen's phone began to ring. She sighed and pulled herself out of Owen's bed. Wrapping a sheet around herself, she went over to where her jacket lay in a heap on the floor. She took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the name.

"Rhys?" Owen asked.

Gwen nodded at him and answered the phone.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey. Look I'm sorry I didn't come home last night, Banana Boat got me pissed and I didn't want to wake you." Rhys said.

"Oh…erm…that's fine. I wasn't at home anyway I…had to come in to work." She lied.

"Oh. Will I see you tonight?" Rhys asked.

"I don't know…erm…yes, I'll see you tonight." She answered.

"Good. I'll see you later then. I love you." Rhys said.

"See you later. Love you too." She replied and put the phone down.

She stared down at the phone in her hand. Tonight, she was going to make her decision. Tonight, she was going to choose between Rhys and Owen. To do that, she needed time away from them both so she could think.

She turned to Owen who was sat up on the bed watching her.

"Is everything ok?" He asked.

"Owen, I have to go." She answered.

"Oh…well I'll give you a lift." He said.

"No it's ok. I brought my car last night. I'll drive myself." She told him.

"Oh…ok." He nodded.

She quickly got dressed and went to leave.

Before she reached the door, Owen grabbed her arm. She turned to him and smiled weakly.

"Owen, I need to go now." She mumbled avoiding eye contact.

"I know but I want you to know how I feel. Gwen I…I love you." He whispered.

She looked up into his eyes. He was gazing at her longingly. She pulled her arm out of his grasp and turned away from him as she felt her eyes beginning to water again. When she turned to look at him again, she saw him looking at her with a confused and slightly hurt expression.

"Owen, I need some space. Please understand that I need time to think." She whispered.

He nodded and watched her leave.

As she got in her car, she leant her head back on the head rest and took a deep breath. Wiping her eyes, she looked up at Owen's flat. Her phone began to ring again. It was Jack.

"Gwen, could you come in? We really need your help, we have a slight Weevil problem." Jack said.

"Yeah, I'm on my way." She sighed.

"Is everything ok?" Jack asked.

"Yeah…fine." She tried to say as cheerily as possible.

"Ok…I'll see you in a bit." He replied.

"Yeah. See you."

She knew Jack didn't believe that she was fine but he didn't press her on it. Taking one last look up at Owen's flat, she drove off to the Hub.

The sirens sounded as she entered and Jack stood waiting for her. For a moment he seemed to be trying to read her thoughts. She tried not to give any signs of there being anything wrong and smiled at him. He returned it and turned away.

"Tosh, keep a track on those Weevils." He called.

"Will do." She shouted back.

"Ianto, how about some of that extra strong coffee for when we get back." He shouted.

"I'm on it." Ianto called.

Jack threw a can of Weevil spray to Gwen.

"Come with me." He said.

Gwen followed him out of the Hub to the SUV.

They drove in silence as they made their way towards the city centre.

"So…how many have we got?" Gwen asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Just the one." Jack replied.

"One. But I thought you said there was more than one. Why do you need me?" Gwen asked confused.

"Well, when I called we had three on the loose but two of them went back into the sewers after. Plus, I sensed something was wrong and I thought you might need someone to talk to." Jack explained.

Gwen shifted in her seat, debating whether to tell him or not.

"I just…have a lot to think about that's all." She mumbled.

"Anything I can help with?" He asked.

"No I need to sort this out myself." She sighed.

"Ok. I'm here if you need any advice." Jack told her.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly.

With the Weevil heavily sedated and safely locked up in one of the cells, Gwen sat at her computer and pretended to be doing some work while her mind was elsewhere. The alarms sounded and she looked up to see Owen entering the Hub. She quickly looked away as he headed towards her. She heard him pause behind her for a couple of seconds and then he continued to walk down to the autopsy bay. She couldn't think straight with Owen only a few feet away, she had to get out of there. Jack came out of his office and started to head down to the archives, no doubt to try and catch Ianto on his own.

"Jack." She called.

Jack looked back at her.

"Yeah?" He shouted.

"Is it ok if I take the rest of the day off?" She asked.

"Yeah sure." He shrugged. "I'll call if we need you."

She nodded and walked out of the Hub, feeling Owen's gaze on her back.

Driving out to a remote spot, she cut off the engine and sat gazing out of the window. She thought about what Owen had told her that morning. He loved her…did she feel the same? Of course she did. If she didn't, she wouldn't be having this problem. She loved him, she loved Rhys too. She sighed heavily, wishing someone could just make the decision for her. Whoever she picked, she knew she had to be one hundred percent certain about because she was going to have to live with that decision.

She didn't realise the time until she happened to glance at her phone. It was half past seven in the evening. Her mind was made up.

She drove home to her flat and let herself in. Rhys was sat on the sofa waiting for her.

"Hey sweetheart." He smiled.

He got up and walked over to her. As he went to kiss her, she turned her face away and went over to the sofa.

"Rhys, we have to talk." She told him.

He frowned at her.

"Gwen? What's going on?" He asked.

"Rhys, I'm so sorry. I love you, I really do. Rhys, I've been having an affair. His name's Owen. I'm really sorry, I never intended to hurt you." She whispered.

"What? You're kidding me right?" Rhys demanded.

"No. It's the truth. Rhys, I'm so sorry. I don't think I can do this any more." She sobbed.

"Do what?" Rhys shouted.

"I can't lie to you any more." She cried.

"Why the fuck did you do it Gwen?" He asked.

"I don't know." She whispered.

"You don't know? You must have had a reason Gwen." Rhys spat. "So are you just fucking him?"

"It's not like that between me and Owen. It used to be but now…we love each other." Gwen told Rhys.

"Well it's him or me." Rhys said.

Gwen looked into his eyes, her cheeks stained with tears.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

She saw Rhys' heart break in his eyes and he turned away from her. She wanted to hug him and tell him it was ok, that she'd changed her mind but she knew it wasn't true.

She went to their room and grabbed a bag. Placing as much of her stuff as she could in her bag, she looked around the flat one last time. She cried silently as she looked at all the pictures of her and Rhys.

When she went to leave, Rhys held her back by her arm.

"Gwen, was it something I did?" He asked.

She turned to look at him, tears were spilling down his face. She wiped them away with her hand and held his face in it.

"No of course it isn't. None of this is your fault, you've been so amazing. Don't blame any of this on yourself." She told him.

He held her hand to his face and closed his eyes. Before she could take her hand away, he pulled her face to his and kissed her. She responded but pulled away after a couple of seconds.

"Gwen, don't go. I love you." He begged.

"I love you too, but I'm sorry…I can't…" She whispered and ran out of the flat.

She flung her bag into the back of her car and sped off towards Owen's flat. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she tried to focus on the road and get rid of the image of Rhys' heartbroken face from her mind. She felt incredibly guilty and she wished she could go back in time and stop herself from joining Torchwood. If she'd never have joined, she'd still be completely in love and happy with Rhys.

As she pulled up outside Owen's flat, she took a deep breath and climbed out. She hoped that Owen was in when she reached his door. Gwen knocked and waited. A couple of seconds later, Owen opened it.

"Gwen, what's happened?" He asked when he saw her tear stained face.

She ran into his arms and cried into his shoulder. He guided her over to his sofa and sat her down. Pulling her onto his lap, he cradled her in his arms.

"I broke up with Rhys." She sobbed.

"Why?" He asked her.

She sat up and looked into his eyes.

"Because I couldn't lie to him any longer. I couldn't lie to you. Owen, I love you." She whispered.

She kissed him passionately. He ran his fingers through her hair and held her tight to him.

"I love you too." He told her.


End file.
